2010 Midwest Interdiscplinary Graduate Conference

“Bodies in Motion” The University of Rhode Island’s Third Annual Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference
Saturday, March 28th, 2009
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Stuart Pimm, Professor of Conservation cology, Duke University
Extended Submission Deadline: Sunday, February 1, 2009

Across academic disciplines, “bodies” — animal, epistemological, textual, or otherwise — defy singular definition and elude our efforts to pin them down. As they parallel, intersect, and inform one another, these “bodies” demand rigorous research, creative thinking, and ever-evolving methodologies. How do we account for these “bodies in motion” and the complex ecologies of knowledge that they form? From what critical perspectives — scientific, mathematic, literary, historical, political, rhetorical, ethical, philosophical — can we examine these “bodies” in order to learn from them and from others? The graduate community at the University of Rhode Island invites submissions for posters, papers, presentations, performances and panels from a variety of disciplines exploring “bodies in motion.”

Dr. Stuart L. Pimm is Duke University’s Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology and the 2006 winner of the Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences. Dr. Pimm’s work focuses on maintaining global biological diversity. His commitment to environmental and species preservation has brought him to Washington D.C., where he testified before both the House’s and Senate’s Committee on the Reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act. He is a founder of SavingSpecies.org, an NGO working toward species preservation and carbon neutrality, and a member of National Geographic’s grant-awarding Committee for Research and Exploration. Bridging the divides between science, sociology, and anthropology, Dr. Pimm’s methods involve working directly with indigenous populations to help flora and fauna survive while maintaining local traditions. His books include World According to Pimm: A Scientist Audits the Earth, The Balance of Nature?: Ecological Issues in the Conservation of Species and Communities, and Food Webs.

Possible topics and areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Theorizing the body or bodies
• Bodies and environmental crisis
• The legal body
• Economic bodies
• Political bodies
• Bodies and health care
• Biotechnology and ethics of the body
• Bodies in literature
• Bodies in the digital age
• Migration, displacement, and/or diasporas
• Mass media and the global image of bodies
• Bodies as machines/Machines as bodies
• The aesthetics of movement
• Bodies and the flow of technology
• Artistic interpretations of the body

Submission Guidelines:
Please propose individual papers or panels and indicate whether you are willing to moderate a panel. Panels of 3-4 presentations are especially welcome.

To propose a paper, submit a cover page with your name; institutional affiliation; contact information (mailing address, phone number, and email); a 250-word abstract of the paper; a roughly 100-word bio; and a detailed request for audiovisual equipment (if needed). Presentations will be limited to fifteen minutes (about seven double-spaced pages).

To propose a panel, submit a cover page including the title of the panel and the names of presenters; a panel abstract of 150-250 words; a separate page with the names of presenters, their contact information (mailing address, phone number, and email) and institutional affiliation(s), the titles of their presentations; and a 250-word abstract for each paper. Panels will be one hour and fifteen minutes long.

The conference committee requests the submission of materials in the body of an email or as an attachment in a Word, text, or PDF document. All submissions should be emailed to Gradcon at URI. Please refer any questions you may have to this address as well. Notification of acceptance will be by Friday, February 7, 2009.